Do any of you not lock your chickens up?

[SteveBaz]

I forgot one night only 1 night ever to lock the girls up and they were all killed but 1. These girls are pets and I do not want that happening again to the entire family. Meaning my grandkids and us. It was horrible to have to deal with the little hurt hearts.

We have made kind of a lifestyle change with the birds. Slowing down to the speed of life we call it. We spend days with the girls like they are one of us. We did make it a family thing.

I put a snap close lock (key holder clips on a belt loop clip)on the brooder door the egg door and the coop door and drop the pop door at night after the attack.

 

[OregonChickenGal]

Always lock mine up. Don't want anything to happen to them.

 

[simplynewt]

Even though they are in what I believe to be a secure run, I always shut the door on the coop when it gets dark outside. I dont lock them in there and they always go into the coop at dusk but I always shut the door behind them. I would just hate to come out in the morning to find my girls missing or in pieces.

 

[christineavatar]

I had several night time invasions as I frantically tried to improve my coop. The one 'ally' I found was
http://www.niteguard.com/pages/Order/
The lights come on at twilight but are not effective until the sky is night time black. I lock my chickens up at sunset. The other night I was late - it was twilight - and I scared off a raccoon that was sneaking into the coop right past the lights. It did not come back later as the lights had taken effect in the pitch black.

 

[simplynewt]

Quote:
Interesting. How bright are these lights Christine?

 

[drmchang]

We thought our run was predator proof, and weren't in the habit of locking them up; the first night a predator proved us wrong (slipped in under the tarps/run cover although the fencing is 6 feet high) we had fortunately decided to shut the door that night! If we hadn't we would have had no chickens left. Even though we are reconstructing a more secure roof, I will NEVER leave that coop door open again.

 

[teach1rusl]

I'm pretty paranoid. Both of my runs are pretty daggone predator proof (welded wire and roofed, motion sensor lights, etc.), but I still shut mine inside 99% of the time. There were a few of the hottest days this past summer when I left the pop doors open for just that little bit of extra air circulation. I've only kept chickens for two years, but have never lost one to a predator.
My brother (back home) hasn't been so lucky. He got very lazy about shutting his pop door (his run was not covered), and as a result has lost over half of his flock (on different nights). He now shuts his pop door every night, and hasn't lost a bird since.

 

[Davian]

I have a large amount of predators in my "yard" so no, I lock them up. I live in the woods though so its a bit different. I have a large family of raccoons, skunks, various other rodents, etc that all just LOVE yummy, yummy chickens. I do let them free range all day, every day so they're fair game if the sun is up.

 

[rmh0508]

My Dad was on "chicken duty one night while my step mom was on vacation, usually she asks me to do this but he offered. So anyway he got home shortly after dark, walked to the coop and locked up. The next morning he goes to let them out and just about stepped on the SKUNK he locked up with them the night before

Anyway hers now free range and the new coop is built into the barn where they have access 24/7 if they so choose. SHe does occasionally loose one but my day enjoys his sniper job entirely way too much so there is not much left around in the form of predators.

Now for my chickens right now I have 1 coop where my main flock free ranges out of, but they are locked up at night. And my other coop has a run coming off of it and it houses all the "spare" cockerels who are looking for new homes. I have 2 adult Polish hens in with these 10 cockerels right now. Once the cockerels are gone I plan on free ranging every body. My Cochin Bantams are only about 10 weeks old so right now I guess I am still considering them babies and just feel more comfortable locking them up. Once they reach adulthood I won't have a problem giving them 24/7 turnout wit access to the coop, barn and wood shed. They do like to hang witht he cow and horses but they all do go in at dusk....

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
Same logic I operate on, especially with smaller birds.

To OP; consider increasing ventilation to coop, they may move back in.